Experts worry college closings hurt the overall ecosystem more than they help competitors. Past examples show enrollment boosts can be small after a nearby college shuts down, but some institutions can still strengthen themselves with savvy moves.

As employers admit they need to give clearer signals about needed job skills, a broad U.S. Chamber-led group seeks to use standardization and technology to better align credentialing and work-force data.

At University of Southern California, some donors and trustees join with students and professors to demand that dean be kept in his job. Rancor is so intense that trustees have gone public with anger over dismissal.

Connecticut College: Marty Chalfie and Tulle Hazelrigg, both professors of biological sciences at Columbia University.
Duke University: Lisa Borders, former president and CEO of the women’s advocacy group TIME’S UP.
Grove City College: U.S. senator Ben Sasse.

Dickinson student's essay sets off intense debate there and elsewhere about who dominates classroom discussions. While piece has been pummeled in conservative blogosphere, issues related to who speaks in class concern many in academe.